#TooManyHashtags: Protests against police brutality planned in Bluffton, Savannah
Local demonstrations in Bluffton and Savannah planned for Sunday aim to bring attention to racism, police brutality and the recent high-profile killings of black people by police and armed white people.
A vehicle parade titled “#TooManyHashtags: United, Woke & Fed Up” will assemble at Bluffton’s Eagles Field at 5:45 p.m. Sunday. Organizers encourage people to participate from their cars by hanging signs and decorations and following the parade.
The goal is to “demand justice for George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and all who can’t speak for their justice,” according to the event poster.
The event’s name - #TooManyHashtags - represents the names of black people remembered through viral videos of their deaths. Event organizers wrote that the parade is to “make sure that the murder of George Floyd is not just another African American name, added to the list of victims ... .”
In Savannah, a Black Lives Matter protest is planned for 2 p.m.. The march will start at Johnson Square and move toward City Hall, according to a Facebook posting.
“We will not tolerate this injustice, we will not be silent, and we will be heard. Please join us to peacefully demonstrate,” the event’s page said.
Who are George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery?
The protests will take place on the weekend of a national day of protest, which was called by the newly re-founded National Alliance Against Racist and Political Oppression.
Floyd, 46, died Monday after he was pinned to the ground by a Minneapolis police officer, who held his knee on Floyd’s neck for several minutes even after Floyd became unresponsive. Officers were attempting to arrest him for allegedly paying for something with counterfeit bills, The Associated Press reported.
Later that week, the officer who pinned Floyd down was arrested and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Taylor, 26, was shot eight times by Louisville police who entered her home on March 13, The Associated Press reported.
“The warrant to search Taylor’s home on March 13 was in connection with a suspect who did not live there,” the AP reported. “Police found no drugs at Taylor’s home after using a “no-knock” search warrant, which allows them to enter without first announcing their presence.”
Arbery, 25, was murdered Feb. 23 near Brunswick, Georgia when a white father and son armed themselves and pursued him after spotting him running in their neighborhood, The Associated Press reported.
More than two months passed before authorities arrested Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son, Travis McMichael, 34, on charges of felony murder and aggravated assault. Gregory McMichael told police he suspected Arbery was a burglar.
This story was originally published May 30, 2020 at 11:26 AM.
